Cold Revised
by Ware-Yami-Tote
Summary: Remake of the 2007 version!
1. Chapter 1

Ware-Yami-Tote Update.

Hey there to you all, if anyone has been paying attention, I just deleted all of Cold.

Why did I do that? Well because my 20 year old self doesn't like the 14 year old that wrote that story. So what's a person got to do to read more of that wonderful fanfiction? Well, you just got to wait for the new updates and rewrites that are blasting your way!

You see, my ability to write may have changed over the years, but my love for Kyo has not. So now, it's like Star Wars baby!

I'm the George Michael of my world!

Currently I am rewriting Cold to much more detail and making it longer. When I reread it, I realized that it was horrible and I can do better.

Also, I'm not quite used to this keyboard; it's weird and really smooth. Please send me any notices about typos. I really want to fix those.

If you want a copy of the original, just pm me and I will send you a copy of the chapters.

Thanks for your support!


	2. Chapter 2

Cold, Again.

Hola, this is a rewrite of Cold. I'm deleting the old story, that way I can show my readers what a couple of years has done with my vocabulary and whatnot. (Note that I made that story when I was 14, I'm almost 20 now…)

Thanks for all the support guys!

**Tora.**

I was about 13 when my mother and father had divorced. It was hard time for my sister and I, she was only 9 at the time and I did my best to keep her from knowing what was going on. She understood that daddy wasn't going to home as often, and momma would be gone a lot.

As it turned out, my mother had been embezzling from my fathers' company about 4 years into their marriage. She had stolen thousands of dollars from my father and he was going under from it. She was finally caught by the accounting department.

My fathers' lawyers told him to sue her, but he told them that if he did that, then he would never see his children again. I had never thought myself particularly close to my father, but he did love us. He kept my mother, sister and I supported as well as run his company.

With all our expenses paid, my mother never got a job. We weren't poor, but we didn't have any extra money to buy nicer things. My sister ended up attending the same middle school I went to, so I had given her all my old uniforms. She wore a lot of my old clothes, and I would tell her, "When I get famous, I'll get you whatever you want!"

She would just smile and say that she didn't mind.

Makiko was such an understanding girl.

It was about four years after my mother and father separated that my mother would start to leave for weeks at a time. Makiko and I had no idea what she was up to, but I made sure she had all she needed. I even shoplifted for her time to time. She never asked where I got some of the things I gave her.

I never told my father what my mom would do this, he would take us away, and I didn't want to go through it all again. Deciding between parents was easy for Makiko, and now that she knew more of the situation, it would destroy her.

One day, I had gotten off of school and I was making dinner for Makiko and I, when my mother burst through the door, "Where's your sister?" She said after she looked around the house, not even saying hello to me, "Where's Makiko?" she growled at me.

Now, normally, my mother was quite lovely looking. She had a long face and perfect eyes. Her hair cascaded to her back and her skin was pale and smooth, people found her beautiful. For some reason lately, she had turned waxy and fake. Her eyes were always bloodshot and watery, her teeth looked yellow and her hair had faded. I had always loved to look at my mother, but now her current condition was hideous. She almost had a dark aura around her.

"She's over with a friend," I told her, "She's studying for-"

"I don't give a damn what she's doing," she shouted, "Why did you let her leave?"

"Why wouldn't I?" I asked, "She needs to finish that project."

"Get your sister home, you little brat." She spat at me, "She's too young to be going to friends' houses this late!" I looked at the clock above the stove; it was only 5:00pm.

"Mom," I sighed, "Are you feeling alright?"

"Am I feeling alright?" She rolled her eyes, "Why in the hell would you ask me dumb question like that? Get your ass outside and bring your sister home."

I said I would, if I stayed another minute in there I would have went off on my mother. I grabbed my jacket, it was very thin since my father bought it two years ago, and put on my tennis shoes. It was getting colder, and closer to my birthday, December was cold in Kyoto.

My sisters' friend lived about six blocks away, it wasn't too far. I had met Kyoko a few times before and she was a sweet girl. She always did her best to help Makiko whenever she could, with school or even boy problems.

I knew she had an older brother about my age, he was in my class, but we never talked. He was in a different world than me, he had all sorts of friends and girlfriends, he was really unique, and I was so boring.

Pushing down that thought, I rang the doorbell to the Nishimura home, and Kyoko's mother came from it, "Hello Nishimura residence, how can I help you?"

"H-hi, this is Tora," I said, "I've come to pick up Makiko."

"Oh well, aren't you a little early?" she asked.

"I am ma'am, but my mother want's her home."

"Well it's not that big of a deal," she said, and she opened the gate to her home. I walked up and she opened the door, "How have you been? Makiko told me that you were looking at some art schools?"

"Uh, yes."

"Well I have some brochures in my office that you can look at." Kyoko's mother was a college counselor, "I'm sure you can find something in them, even if they are a little old."

"Thank you very much," I bowed a little.

She led me to the kitchen and left me to go search for the booklets. I sat down at the kitchen table and leaned my head on my hand. This home was so nice and inviting, unlike my home. I found myself a little jealous of it.

"Oi." I heard a loud voice from the stairs, "Who're you?"

"Ah!" I jumped, seeing Tooru Nishimura in his boxers and a towel around his shoulders, "I'm Tora Murasaki." I bolted from my seat and bowed, trying to look away from Tooru's naked chest.

"Murasaki?" He asked, when I looked up, he had an eyebrow raised. He paused in thought for a moment, then continued walking down the stairs, "Are you Maki-chan's sister?" He got very close to my face.

"Maki-chan?" I said, realizing he had used a pet name for my sister, "You mean Makiko."

"I mean Maki-chan," He smiled at me. "Oh well, I like this one better." He turned away, "What school do you go to?" He dried his hair while talking to me.

"Eh?" I exclaimed, "You really don't know what school I go to?"

"I've never met you in my life."

"Tooru…" I shook my head in disbelief, using his name for the first time, "We've been in the same class since freshman year…"

His eyes widened in shock, "No way!"

"Yes, we have." I pressed, "You're friends with that Senior Kaoru Niikura."

He pursed his lips together and grinned, "Ha, well, that just goes to show how much I pay attention. How did I look over someone as pretty as you?" I felt myself blush. He walked over to a bag lying on a chair and pulled out a pack of cigarettes, "You want one?" he asked.

I scrunched my nose and nodded no. He took one out of the pack, put it in his mouth and walked back upstairs. His mother came out from the back of the house just as he left. "I found them, there's one from this year too!" she exclaimed.

I took the pamphlets and thanked her graciously for them. She asked me questions about my grades and if I had a boyfriend, little things like that. We chatted while I waited for Makiko to finish up. I had waited for a while, until I finally asked Nishimura-san when Makiko would be done.

"Oh!" She laughed, "I was having such a nice time talking with you, I forgot to tell her you were here!" I tried to hide my disbelief, but I knew that I had a habit of showing what I was thinking. She smiled and walked upstairs.

Nishimura-san was a nice lady, she was a little spacey from time to time, but she had good intentions. I wondered how she managed to raise someone like Tooru. To be honest, he seemed a little out of control.

Makiko came down after a few minutes of me waiting; she looked out of sorts, "Ane-chan!" she wined, "Why do I have to go?"

"Mom's home." And I gave her a stern look.

She took the hint and changed her attitude at once, "Thank you so much for have me over Nishimura-san. Hopefully I can enjoy your daughters company again sometime. Give Mr. Nishimura my best regards as well."

"It was very nice having you over Makiko." She bowed, "And don't be a stranger Tora."

We bowed back and exited the building. Makiko was the first to speak, "So what does mom want?"

"I haven't the slightest clue," I sighed, "But she wanted you urgently."

"Does she still think I'm six years old?" She teased.

"I wouldn't put it past her." I closed my eyes, "Don't let her jerk you around." She nodded and we continued walking in silence.

We reached the house, and it looked silent. "Be careful Maki." I walked in first, the smell of the dinner I was making was still in the air, but all the lights were turned off. I flipped the switch, and the sight before Maki and I made Maki jump a little.

The place was trashed. Everything was flipped over, all of our electronics were stolen, and our family's golden shrine incense piece was gone. We both looked over the house and even the fine silverware and china was gone. Maki looked on the verge of tears, "Go check our rooms, make sure our Kimonos are still there." I told her.

The Kimono that our father had bought us were vintage and very expensive. They were worth thousands, and our father had told us to hide them. We did our best, but our house was very small. There weren't very many places to hide things. Maki and I found a small nook underneath our bunk bed and hid them in boxes underneath the house.

I looked at the only thing that wasn't turned over, our small dining room table. There was a note and I instantly recognized my mother's calligraphy. Makiko ran from the hallway, "She found them! They're gone!" Right as she said this, I read the note. It simply said, 'Thanks girls. Maybe you aren't too useless.'

"That explains why she wanted me to leave so badly." I crumpled the paper in my hand and threw it into the garbage bin. "Let's fix this place up and then I'll finish dinner." Makiko nodded and wiped her tears from her eyes.

I wrapped my arm around her and squeezed her, "Ane-chan, why does it have to be like this?"

"I don't know…." I lowered my head, "I wish I could give you a better answer."

"We'll get through this." She said, "Things will get better…"

**Kyo**

"Tooru, stop texting." Mother said to me while we were eating dinner. I was busy talking to my best friend, trying to arrange a time when we could hang out, but my mother could see through my blank stare.

"Mother, I have no idea what you're talking about." I tried but she rolled her eyes, grabbed my arm pulling it over the table to take my phone from me. "You're good mom." I laughed, but she didn't seem to find it very funny.

"That's disrespectful, stop." She gave me a very stern look. Kyoko laughed and I gave her a dirty look. "You're going to help me with the dishes." Kyoko laughed even more, because it was her turn to help.

"Yes mother…"

After dinner I was standing shoulder to shoulder with my mom. "Tooru, what do you know of the Murasaki family?" she asked, handing me a pot to rinse.

"Not much." I said, "I didn't even know that To-chan was in my class until she told me today."

"Oh, so you met her? What do you think about her?" Now, when my mother had something on her mind, she always had to get to the bottom of it. It was just her character, but this time I thought it was more of feeling then her just being nosey.

"She's beautiful. I like her eyes… um." I was struggling with what else to say, "So far all I have done is talk with her."

My mother paused from washing the dishes and stared off for a few minutes. I nudged her a little and she snapped back, "Oh sorry, I was wondering if you could, you know, talk to her more."

"Why?" I asked.

"I feel like she needs a friend." My mother shook her head, "Whenever we speak, she's very cautious about what she says. She's scared about something, and she's hiding it. If she really wants to go to art school, she needs to get past these things."

"Mom, why do you care so much?"

She smiled, "Because she and I are alike in a lot of ways. Do this for your mother." She handed me a hand towel, "I'm not asking you to marry her. Dry your hands, and go do your homework."

I walked away and rolled my eyes, I never did my homework.

When I went into my dark room, I pulled my phone from my pocket and dialed for my best bud Kaoru. He answered instantly, "Hey man, what the hell? We were supposed to jam!" I sat on my bed and picked at my nails.

"Well my mother is the law for me." I stated, "Listen, we can do that tomorrow, that Makiko middle school girl is into you right? What do you think of her?"

"Last time I checked, I think so." He was obviously wondering why I was bringing this up, "and I think she's cute…"

"Well, has she asked you out?" I kept pressing.

"No, but why the hell does it matter?"

"When she does, accept." I almost laughed, telling my friend what to do with his love life.

"What?" he almost yelled at me.

"Dude, you owe me!" I said, reminding him of the time he was really trying to lose his virginity one night a couple years back, and I took one for his team, "Remember that one time in Okinawa?"

"Yes, yes!" He growled, "I remember! I'll do it, but you better tell me why!"

"Tora Murasaki, my friend." I stated, "I need to get closer to her."

"So this is for you, personally?" He could almost hear his grin, "She's a looker now that I think about her. Isn't she sort of poor though?"

"Doesn't matter." I brushed that aside, "My mom is worried about her."

Kaoru was silent, "Your mom really does rule your world…" he sighed, "Okay, I'll date that Makiko girl if she asks me."

"You know, better yet, how about YOU ask her out." I said, thinking it was a swell idea.

"Kyo, she's like thirteen years old!" he finally yelled at me.

"Never stopped you before." I stated.

"I was drunk!"

"Yeah, and you were 15 and drunk." I threw at him, "Kaoru, you're not innocent. I've actually talked with Makiko a few times, and she's smart. Give her a real chance please, she may need some help."

"Why do you think those girls need help?" He calmed a little.

"Do you ever see Toras family at parents' day?" He was silent, "Exactly." I confirmed, "Listen, this will be fun, I think. We'll walk over to Makiko's school during lunch tomorrow, and you can do the deed. My sister goes to the same school as Makiko." I heard him sigh, "It's not like I'm asking you to sleep with her to get to her sister." I laughed, "It's not like that one time when the roles were reversed and the sister was really old!"

"Kyo, after this we are even." He yawned, "I'm getting off, I'll see you tomorrow." He hung up and I looked at my clock, it was only 8:00pm. I had a semi-big day ahead of me.

"Kyoko!" I yelled as I walked out of my room and by her door, "I need a favor!"

She swiveled around in her computer chair, "What do you need? Did mom not give you enough work, cause I have a ton of stuff you can do!"

"No," I rolled my eyes, "I want to know what class Makiko is in."

She gave me a blank stare, then finally asked, "Wait, why?"

"Just tell me." I demanded.

"I'm not going to tell you unless you give me a valid reason." She turned back to her computer and continued her work. I stood there, unsure of what to say. Then again, I had told my sister a lot of things, and she never told mom.

"Kaoru is going to ask Makiko out tomorrow and he wants me to be there." I blurted out, "He doesn't know what classroom she's in and he needs to know." Kyoko turned around again fast, her face in shock.

"Kyo, Makiko has liked Kaoru for ages…"

"I know, and he's liked her too," I smirked, "Now what classroom is she in?"

Kyoko hesitated for a moment, she spaced out in thought, like mother did. They were both very alike, finally she said, "She's in classroom A-1. Their lunch break is at 11:15pm, and they get off at 3:15pm."

"Why so early?" I asked.

"She's in the honor class, they get privileges and things like that." She clicked her pen a little, "You're not messing with me are you, about asking Makiko out? If you were, that would be seriously messed up, Kyo."

I smiled at her, "C'mon sis, it's me we're talking about. I could never mess with anyone." She rolled her eyes and turned back to her computer."

The next day at school I got a good look at Tora. I felt so dumb for not knowing that she was in my school, yet alone my class. She always sat very quietly, doodling in her notebook. We were going to change seats soon, and she was going to be right next to me. I was sort of excited because I wanted to see what she was drawing in her book.

During lunch I regrouped with Kaoru, he sat at his desk, head in his arms. I tapped him on the shoulder, and he jerked upward, "What do you want Kyo? I'm already committing statutory rape, what else do I need to do?"

"Dude, we live in Japan, it's not uncommon for older men to date younger women." I stated. He just rolled his eyes and scratched his nose, "So I know what class she's in, and she gets off earlier than most kids, because she's in honors. So we need to ditch at second break, and walk over to her school."

"You want me to ditch again?" he sighed, "Will I ever see the end of your tyranny?"

"Probably not." I nodded my head a little.

He sighed again and put his head back down on the desk, "I'll meet you outside the gate at break."

For the remainder of class I mainly looked at Tora's notebook as she drew. She seemed to be in her own little world, but whenever the teacher would call her an answer, she would always know it. She seemed to be only halfway listening, and halfway in her world.

She was such a fascinating girl.

Fourth break ended, and I went down to the gate to meet Kaoru. He looked a bit on edge, climbing over the gate was a big violation, but I didn't really care. I had done it several times, and even some of the teachers saw me do it. They never did anything because my mother was in such a high position on the school board.

Sure, my mother never did like when I skipped school, but she knew she couldn't stop me. School wasn't that important to me at all. I wanted to be a performer, a singer, an artist. I didn't need to know complex math equations to know that my voice was amazing.

We made it to Makiko's school with then minutes before she was getting out, so I tried to give Kaoru a bit of a pep talk, "So look her in the eye, and say it like you mean it." He looked away from me, "I'm serious here man, this is a big deal. I want her to believe you."

"Can I tell you something, without you laughing at me." He said through gritted teeth.

"What is it man?"

"Well," he hesitated, but I urged him to speak, "I've always found Makiko cute. She's very smart, and well… the fact that I'm asking her out for you…."

I punched his arm, "You bastard! You've liked her all this time!" I exclaimed, "Why didn't you just tell me that?"

"I knew you would have given me a hard time about it!" he smiled a little, "But now I have to for a friend, so I don't mind."

I scowled a little; I thought he was an idiot for not acting on his emotions. I looked down at my phone, and it was 3:14, "You ready?" I asked, showing him the time on my phone. He nodded, and the bell rang. The courtyard was quiet for a moment, but soon a small group of students entered.

"There she is!" Kaoru said, pointing her out. She had her hair in pig tails. She soon took notice of us and walked over. I could see Kaoru starting to sweat a little.

"What are you two doing here?" She asked, mainly looking at me.

"Kaoru here wants to talk to you!" I almost laughed, "He has something really important to ask you."

She looked up at Kaoru, blushing slightly. I could tell she liked him; Makiko was bad at hiding her emotions, "What's so important?"

"I…" Kaoru began, "I wanted to know if you were…." He started to look away, but I kicked the back of his foot, and he snapped back, "I wanted to know if you would like to go out with me!" I blurted out.

Makiko looked shocked, losing the color in her face, "R-really?" she asked, "You're not messing with me?"

He nodded, no, and she jumped up and grabbed him a hug.

**Tora**

"Hey Tora," my friend said to me right before break ended, "Look outside." I glided over to the window, and Kyo and one his friends were climbing over the school gate, "I wonder where they're going…"

"Nowhere good, that's for sure," I said, going back to my desk. Class was over in forty-five minutes, so what was he rushing for? Makiko was going to Kyoko's house again, so that she could finish her project, and I needed to have dinner done when she got home. Hopefully my mother wouldn't make another appearance.

One my way home from school, I walked by a store with lots of new jackets and shoes. Makiko and I really needed some new winter wear, but even our most valuable item was lost. I thought about going in to steal some, but I thought against it. I felt like it was an unlucky day.

When I approached my house, there was a big black car in the drive way. I wondered who was here, so I walked up to the car. When I got close, the window rolled down. A man in a suit and dark glasses looked at me, "Hey there, how are you?" He asked, smiling.

"Uhm," I tried using my manners, "Good, how are you?" He just smiled at me, "How can I help you?" He got out of the car, and smoothed out his suit a little. He took a cigarette from his pocket and lit it. "Sir, how can I help you?"

"You're name is Tora, right?" He asked, releasing smoke from his mouth.

"Y-yes sir." I said.

"Where's your mother?"

Instantly there was a cold feeling coming over me. He grabbed my shoulder, and three other men came out of the car. They were large and all dressed in the same suit, they were Yakuza. How in the hell did my mother become involved with them?

"I don't know where my mother is." I tried to be as respectful as I could, "She was here yesterday, and then she was gone."

"For some reason, I don't believe you." He blew smoke in my face, keeping his grip tight on my arm, "Tell me where she is, and you may get away without any trouble."

"Sir," he squeezed my shoulder tighter, and I cried out, "I swear! She's not here!"

Suddenly, the man picked me up over his shoulder and started carrying me up to the house. I screamed and kicked and tried to get free, but he was much stronger than I was. He kicked the door open and the three other men followed him.

We were inside the apartment, and he threw me on the ground hard, "Where's your mother, Tora?" He started unbuckling his belt, "Tell me, and we don't have to do this. You're a virgin, right?"

"How in the hell do you know so much about me?" I screamed. He kicked me in the gut hard, and I toppled over.

"You'd be amazed what your mother says when she's drunk." He smirked, "Get up." He grabbed my hair, and yanked me upward, "Get up, you're a whore just like your mother, right?" I heard fabric rustle, and his pants fell to the floor.

I started to shake, and I lost control of my body. Lying on the floor, I started to cry. I knew what was going to happen, I just didn't know why. I had done nothing to deserve this, and yet I was receiving the punishment my mother deserved.

The man got on top of me, and ripped open my uniform, revealing my bra. He grabbed my breasts, and squeezed them. I tried to push him away, but he punched me in the head hard. My eyes saw stars, and he was back at my chest again. He pulled my bra off and worked at my bare skin.

I started to feel dirty, like he was tainting me. He twisted my breasts and sucked at them more, and soon he grew bored of it, "Come on girl, start acting like you enjoy this." He whispered in my ear. He looked over me, and I spat in his face.

He didn't take kindly to this, and he punched me hard in the eye. I saw stars again, and my face hurt. I could feel my tears falling over my hot face, cooling where they traveled. The man turned me over on my stomach and pulled off what remained of uniform top. He rubbed my back, and I tried to crawl away, but he pulled off my skirt with my panties.

"Tatsu," one of the men said, "What if she gets away?"

By this time, I was pretty much naked, "Grab her." He said to him, "Make sure she doesn't get away." He laughed and grabbed my legs. I could feel him press against me. I cried out, screamed, pleaded for help, but the two men held my arms and the other one watched.

Things turned blurry after that part, but I do remember him entering me. It was disgusting, and it hurt. Tatsu said something about blood, but I lost the rest. I saw red in my vision after he pounded into me several times. No matter how loud I cried, no one came to help me.

He rubbed me raw. With each thrust I cried out, but he never stopped. Somewhere in the middle of it, the other men started to masturbate over the top of me. One of them came on my back; I could feel it trickling down my side.

Tatsu turned me around on my back, "I want to see your face…" He said huskily, his face was flushed and covered in sweat. He went inside me again, thrusting hard than before. I closed my eyes, and covered my face with my hands. When I did this, he stopped and snatched my arms away from my head.

The other men grabbed my arms and forced them down with their feet. I could hear one break as one of them stomped down hard. I cried from the hot pain of my bones snapping. With that shriek, the man came inside me, and the other two came onto my face.

When he pulled out, he pulled out a small knife, and cut a piece of my hair. Tatsu pulled the lock to his nose and smelled, staring into my eyes, smiling. I started to fade, there was too much pain, but before I passed out he grabbed the back of my head, kissed my lips, and then cut from me from my ear to the upper part of my breast.

I blacked out afterwards, but when I awoke, I was laying on my couch, a blanket over me. The house was quiet, but there was a light on in my mothers' room. I sat up, my arm was like hot pins, and I cried out, "Tora?" I heard from my mother's room.

A man walked into the room, and when I looked up, Tooru looked into my eyes


	3. Chapter 3

Cold, Again

Chapter two! I just want to say that I write a large portion of these when I get off work. So I'm usually pretty tired. Please inform me of any typos so that I can fix them. I read and read and read to try and catch them all, but sometimes I fail….. Thank you!

**Kyo**

I had left Kaoru and Makiko alone so that they could talk more. I was happy for Kaoru, he was with a girl that he actually liked. I wondered how Tora would take to her little sister dating him. She would try to protest, but in the end be okay with it.

As I passed Tora's house, four men stepped out. They all wore suits, and one held a black lock of hair. He was rubbing it over his lips and laughing. The other men were smirking as well, "I won't forget her." The obvious leader said, "I love virgins." He saw me in the corner of his eye and stared at me. I kept walking the other way like I hadn't noticed them.

They all piled back into the car and drove away. I had a horrible feeling in my stomach. There was a bag laying in the driveway. Walking over to it, I pulled out a cigarette and put it into my mouth. I picked it up and saw Tora's name on it.

Dread was the only feeling that came to me. I walked to the door, and it was slightly opened. When I peeked inside, a horrific scene unfolded. Tora lay on the floor, facing down, crying and shaking. Instantly I opened the door, kicking off my shoes.

She was completely naked, her uniform ripped into shreds around her. I could see the bone sticking out of her arm. She was bleeding badly.

_What the HELL do I do?! _I thought to myself, feeling the panic set in. I turned her onto her back, revealing a cut from her ear to the chest. She was sticky, covered in semen. I grabbed my phone, and looked through the contacts, but no one could have helped me. The only option was calling an ambulance.

I picked her up and laid her on the couch, she cried out in pain. I felt horrible hurting her, but I needed to at least get her off the floor. I went into her room, and pulled a blanket off the first bed I saw. Walking back to her, I saw that there was blood not only on her arm, but down her legs as well.

"They raped you…." I said aloud, "Those bastards." I draped it over her body and went into a random room, dialing 911. When it connected, I urgently told them that there was someone hurt, and gave them the address. They would be there in 10 to 15 minutes.

There was a cry in the other room, "Tora?" I asked. There was no answer, so I walked to the living room. Tora was cradling her arm, she was covered in sweat and shaking, "Tora," I said again, "What happened?"

Her eyes filled with confusion, and tears fell from them. I sat next to her on the couch, and wrapped my arm around her. She started to cry, I thought mostly from pain, "Tooru…" she whispered, "They raped me…" her voice was so small, "They came looking for my mother, and they found me."

"Who are they?" I asked.

"It seemed like some thugs from the Yakuza…." She said. Now the Yakuza were known for being in Tokyo, but there wasn't much of a problem with them in Kyoto, "My mom must owe them money, or something…"

"I called an ambulance, Tora." I said, "I can't carry you to the hospital, but they can help you there. There we can tell the police what happened, and they can find those bastards."

She grabbed my shirt and pulled my close with her good arm. "No." She said firmly.

"W-what?"

"I'll go to the hospital," She breathed, "But I will not talk to the police."

"Why the hell not?!"

"Because," She lowered her head, "I don't want to be a problem for anyone…"

"Tora, how could you be a problem?" I asked, "This is serious. You can't allow this to happen again. They hurt your badly!"

"It's alright…" She sighed, "It's not like any man wanted me anyway."

I remained silent, she was being ridiculous, "I won't say anything," I decided, "but I ask that you…" I wasn't sure what I wanted to say. She was being unreasonable, but I didn't want to hurt her fragile state, "I ask that you give me a chance, I want to help you."

"Help me?" She sobbed, "How in the hell could you help me?! Unless you have a time machine, I'm pretty sure that I can't be helped!"

"What needs to be changed?!" I sort of joked, "Cause I have one!"

She stared at me; jaw locked in irritancy, "Don't be stupid." She shrugged my arm off her shoulders, "Stay away from me, you know nothing."

"Then why don't you tell me?"

"Why would I want to do that?"

"Because I want-"

There was a knock at the door, "This is the National Nippon Emergency response unit. Please open the door." I stood up to let them in, they had a stretcher and they saw Tora immediately. They rushed to her, I pressed myself against the wall, trying to make myself smaller. The atmosphere was tense, because they looked at me like I had hurt her.

"Miss," One female said to her, glancing at me, "Do we need to get the police here?"

"No…" She whispered, looking at me, tears in her eyes, "He didn't do anything. He helped me."

The crew didn't seem the least bit convinced that I was a bystander in this, and to honest I didn't really blame them. This situation was ominous; she looked like she had been beaten almost to death. Her eye was purple, she was bleeding, and her arm was broken.

As they were loading Tora into the back of the truck, there were several people watching the scene. Makiko and Kaoru were one of them; they were holding hands, "Kyo…" Kaoru said, "What happened here?"

"Uhh." I wasn't sure what to say, so I gave Kaoru a, 'I'll tell you later' look. I invited Makiko to stay the night, she agreed, but was in a state of shock. Kaoru and I walked her to my place in silence.

My mother was the first person I saw when I walked inside, "Makiko! What a nice surprise!"

"Not now mother." I said.

"What do you mean?" I gave her a serious look, and she caught on, "Maki-chan, why don't you go upstairs and Kyoko, she's wanted to see you." She walked upstairs without saying anything.

"Mother, there's been a problem." I sighed taking off my sweater, "Someone came into Tora's house and they beat and raped her badly." My mother stared at me, blank and empty, so I continued, "She spoke with me for a bit, but she's against telling the police."

"What?!" She bellowed, "How could she not…."

"She doesn't want to be an inconvenience." I rubbed my forehead, "I don't know mother, how am I supposed to help her?"

My mother put her arm around me, grief on her long face, "I don't know Tooru. But what I do know is that we need to make sure she's safe. If she won't go to the police, then she can at least stay with us. We have an extra room that used to be a storage room." She walked towards the kitchen, "You and some of your rowdy friends can clear it out."

I rolled my eyes, "They aren't rowdy." I laughed and pulled out my phone to call Kaoru. While it was ringing, I ran upstairs. He picked up, "Hey man." I said.

"What's going on Kyo?" He asked panicked.

"So, when I was walking home," I explained. "Some Yakuza thugs were walking out of Tora's house. I went to investigate-"

"-Wait, Yakuza?!" He yelled.

"Yes." I said, "Anyway, I found her all messed up, naked on her living room floor. Her arm was broken, and she was covered in come man. It was awful. I feel so bad for her."

Kaoru was silent; I could tell he was getting angry. I didn't really blame him for it either, "Is she…" He finally said, "Is she going to report it?"

"No." I said.

"Why the fuck not?!"

"She says something about being a burden and all that shit." I was getting tired of explaining it, "Listen, I want Daisuke, Toshiya, Shin, and yourself over here tomorrow. We're going to clear out that room my mom has."

"She's moving in with you?" Kaoru asked, "What about Makiko?"

"She's invited as well." I said, "But last time I checked, don't they have father?"

"I'm sure they do. Maybe they would be better off with him."

My father worked for Murasaki Corp. It was a branch of the Sanrio company, and Tora's father was the president for Murasaki Corp, why hadn't the called their parents?

"Kaoru, I need to go speak with Makiko, I'll see you tomorrow." Before he could say anything, I hung up my phone. I needed more information on these two, and I'm sure Maki would tell me.

Makiko was in the kitchen with my little sister, playing a board game on the dining room table, "Maki-chan," she turned her head, "Can I talk to you?" I asked, "Alone?" Kyoko gave me a suspicious look, but took the hint and walked away. I sat down at the table opposite of her and looked her in the eyes, "I'm sure you have a lot of questions for me."

"I do." She said, "Will you answer them?"

"To the best of my abilities."

She said then said, "First of all, why was my sister in an ambulance?"

"I saw some guys coming out of your house," I explained, "and I was worried so I went to investigate. When I had found your sister, she was beaten." I didn't mention the naked part, that might have hurt her more.

"Okay…" she said, processing the information, "Did you see my mother with any of those men?"

"I didn't, there were about 4 or so of them, but there wasn't a woman."

"Do you know about Tora and I?" she sort of half whispered.

"No." This was what I had wanted; I needed to get her to confide in me about her situation.

"A few years back," she started, "my mother was caught embezzling from my father's company, and he divorced her because of it. My father, instead of paying child support, set us up with a house and an allowance every month." She put her head down, "My mother decided to use the money he sends us for drugs and gambling. We have it sort of rough, but I didn't think my mother was involved with any bad people."

I took her hand and squeezed it, "Well sometimes, people make bad choices, Maki-chan."

Tears were swelling in her eyes, "I….know…." she sobbed for a bit, "Can I go see my sister tomorrow?"

"You sure can." I tried to smile, "I'm sure she's just fine."

**Tora**

"Honey," the social worker said, "You can tell me what happened, you're not in trouble." She was a short woman with an A-line haircut. Her business suit was dark blue, and she wore small dark rimmed glasses. "We just want to help you." She had her pen on her clipboard, ready to take notes.

"I fell." I sighed, "I don't know how many times I have to tell you people that."

"Now we both know that that didn't happen!" She was starting to get irritated, after two hours of trying to get the truth and not succeeding , she was edgy, "Where is your mother?"

"At work."

"What does your mother do for a living?"

"I told you," I gritted my teeth, "She's an at home care giver, and when she is on a job, she can't be contacted."

The woman sighed deeply, "Let me know when you want to tell me the truth." And she walked out of the hospital room.

Following shortly after her, was Tooru and my little sister. Tooru seemed very out of place in the room, his dark clothes were the very opposite of the white walls that surrounded us. He smiled when he saw me, and he had his arm around my sister.

Makiko looked very gray. Her eyes were red like she had been crying, "Ne-san." She said, once we locked eyes, "Wh-what happened?"

"Mother…" I looked at her. Her eyes swelled up with tears again.

"I'm so tired of mother hurting you!" She yelled between sobs, "This isn't fair!"

"I'm strong," I sort of laughed at myself, "I can handle it."

"You're going to break soon, Ne-san!" Her hands were in fists, "I love you so much, and for me to just sit there and watch mothers horrible habits and secrets hurt you goes against everything you ever told me!"

"Maki, please sit down." I asked. She sighed, and then sat down. She put her head in her hands in frustration, "Ne-chan, we can get through this. Mother really messed up this time, I can tell. Those men," I thought of a lie, "thought that I was mother, and they took it out on me." I reached out for her, but my I.V was too short and I couldn't reach her so I just put my hand in my lap, "We can call father, and move to Hokkaido with him, then we can be safe."

"Ne-san, you know that if mother hears about that," she said, "There's going to be some serious trouble."

Tooru finally spoke up, "Why don't you stay with my family?"

Makiko and I both snapped our heads in his direction, "Excuse me?" I said.

"Stay with my family." He smiled, "My mother likes you both, and there's an extra room in my house. It used to belong to my big brother, but he's long gone in Okinawa."

"I don't care who it belongs to," I snapped, "There's no way the school is going to let us stay with you."

"Don't forget," He grinned, "My mother is head of the school board. She can get the okay, just run with some story about your mom being away for work and that you don't feel safe in your house. Tell your father the same, and since our dads work together I'm sure it will be fine."

"How do you know that our dads work together?" I asked.

"My dad has been working for the Murasaki Company for 10 years." He stood up, "He's the head of the HR department. Our fathers get along swell. I know it will work, and my mother has no problem, I'm sure of it."

I closed my eyes and fell back into my stiff pillow, "What do you want to do, Makiko?"

"You're giving me the decision?" She asked shocked.

I nodded my head, I was feeling very tired. Tooru started talking to her, but his voice sounded distant, I was falling asleep again. The drugs they gave me here were meant to make me sleep, so that I could recover. All I heard before I passed out was, "Don't worry Tora," it was Tooru, "I'll have all your things taken care of before you come home, with me."

….

It was about week after I had been admitted into the hospital, and late one night, my doctor came into my room with some shocking news. He was followed by that social worker, "Murasaki-san, I have some important news for you."

I looked up from my drawing book; he had a weary look on his face, "What is it, Sensei?"

"We ran some tests today and something came up." Oh god, that man had some sort of sexually transmitted disease! I'm going to die in 5 years! There's no cure or vaccination for it, "You're pregnant."

"My mind went blank, "Oh god." Was all I could manage to say, "You're joking, right?"

"Tora," it was the woman, "You can't try and tell me that you fell down the stairs and became pregnant." She crossed her arms.

I raised my eyebrow, "Virgin birth?"

She didn't seem to find it every funny, "I'm calling your father," she told me. "and you are going to stay with him."

"W-wait!" I cried, "Cold weather is bad for pregnant people!" I said desperately, "Shouldn't I stay in Kyoto, it's warmer!"

"Now you're just being silly." There was a knock on the door, and the woman turned around, looking at the door unsurely.

"Well," I said, "open it!" The woman grabbed the door knob and opened the door to reveal Tooru's mother, Nishimura-san, and of course Tooru himself. They were carrying some food and a purple blanket that looked brand new, "Hey…" Was all I could manage to say.

"Who are these people?" The woman said.

"You know I am, Yukina-san.' Nishimura-san said, smiling, though her smiled didn't match her eyes, "Could I speak with you for a moment in the hallway?"

The woman, now named Yukina-san, looked petrified, "Of course…" Nishimura-san handed Tooru the blanket, whispered something into his ear that made him smiled, and then left the room with Yukina-san. The doctor found some excuse to leave the room, and it was just Tooru and I.

"How do you feel, Tora?" Tooru asked, setting down the grocery bag.

"Well, do you want me to be honest?"

"I would love it if you were honest," He unfolded the blanket and put it over my body, "I hope you like the color; Maki-chan said it was your favorite shade." I looked at it, it was a deep bluish purple, covered in darker paisley spots.

"It's wonderful, thank you." I said, "Tooru…" I sort of half whispered.

"Please, call me Kyo." He said.

"Okay," I tried again, "Kyo…." The realization that I was about to confide in someone I hardly knew hit me faster, "Never mind!" I said quickly.

"Wait, no." Kyo got closer to me. "What is it that you want to say?"

"Nothing!" I looked away from him, his eyes were burning me.

"Tora, I'm sure that whatever it is, it won't disgust me in anyway." His voice was so sweet, "I'm here for you," He reached out and touched my hair, "Don't be afraid." He got closer to my face, I could taste his breath, "I care about you…" His lower lip grazed mine, but when he made contact I instantly pushed him away.

He backed away from me fast; almost like he knew what he did was wrong.

"What the hell?!" I yelled.

"Sorry! Sorry!" he put his hands together, "I don't know what came over me! I'm going to blame it on hormones!"

"Blame it on yourself!" I laughed a little, but it died quickly. If Kyo really did want me in that way, and when he found out I was pregnant, he probably wouldn't want me anymore. I put my hand over my belly, almost trying to feel the life growing there.

Kyo looked at my face, then to my stomach, then back at face a few times. Then there was a light bulb that turned on in his mind, "Tora…" he looked almost nervous, "Tora, are you…?" I closed my eyes, I could feel the tears forcing their way out, "You're pregnant?"

Hearing someone say that out loud was almost like having something stab me in the chest, "Yes…" I said, "And I don't even know the father."

Kyo was silent for a bit, he started to bite his thumbnail, "Are you going to keep it?"

"I-I don't know!" I almost yelled, "There's just so much going on with my body right now!"

"I know…." He ran his hand through his hair, "I'm sorry." He walked back to the side of my bed, and put his arm around my head and cradled me, "Well, whatever-"

There was a knock at the door, and Nishimura-san walked back into the room. "Tora!" She cried, "You poor child!" She ran over to me, almost pushing Kyo over, grabbing me in a tight hug, "We are here for you!" She pulled away from the hug, and looked me in the eye, "You have our support. I've talked it over with Yukina-san, and she's going to work it out with the state to get you to stay with us legally! Isn't that wonderful?!"

"Mother, you know about-"

"About the baby?!" She exclaimed, "Of course I do! A baby is such a wonderful thing Tooru, they bring joy and life and sleepless nights into the lives of many!" she pinched both my cheeks, "You have our support, sweetie!"

"'Our' support?" Kyo raised his eyebrow.

"Myself, your father of course, and you!" she hugged me again, but whispered in my ear, "Everything is going to be okay, darling."


End file.
